Mail-box.



F. KYLE.

MAIL BOX.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. I3. I9I8.

1,281,029.. Patented Oct. 8, 1918.

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F. KYLE.

MAIL BOX.

APPLICATION FILED MM. 13, 191s.

Patented oct. 8,1918.

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FREDERICK KYLE, OF MILTON, OREGON.

MAIL-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 8, 1918.

Application led March 13, 1918. Serial No. 222,206.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FREDERICK KYLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milton, in the county of Umatilla and State ,of Oregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail- Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to deposit and collection receptacles, and more especially to letter boxes having a pivoted receiver; and the object of the same is to produce a mail box for suburban and country7 use having an indicator which is set automatically by the closing of the receiver, providing the latter contains mail.

V The object of the invention is to produce a simple, waterproof and reliable structure possessing this characteristic; and to this end the invention consists in the details of construction hereinafter more fully described and claimed and shown in the drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a central vertical section through this mail box lwith the receiver closed,

Figs. 2 and 8 are horizontal sections on the lines 2 2 and 3 3 respectively of Fig. 1, Fig. 2 showing the receiver in full lines as closed and Fig. 3 showing it in full lines as open,

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1 with the receiver closed, and

Fig. 5 is a section on about the same line with the receiver shown in dotted lines as open.

The box body 1 -is rectangular and preferably has a curved roof 2 and flat upright ends 8, and by preference it is made entirely of galvanized sheet iron so that it is weatherproof, fire-proof and will resist the attacks of the average miscreant, unprovided with tools. That is to say, the receiver cannot be opened when it is swung closed and locked, although in the present drawings I have omitted all showing of the lock as the same forms 'no part of the present invention. Without some lock it could of course be opened by anyone, and on this simpler basis I will describe the structure. What might be called the front side of the body is open to an overhanging ledge 4, purposely provided to shed the elements away from the door of the receiver. Said door is numbered 5, andit constitutes the outerwall of a box-shaped receiver numbered 6 as a whole, the same having rearwardly projecting tongues 7 on its upper and lower walls pivotally mounted on an upright bolt 8 within the body. This receiver may be closed at its rear end as at 9, but its front end is open and cut off on an arc struck around the bolt 8, as a. center, and at such distance therefrom that it may swing into the body in a manner best understood from Fig. 2, whereas the door 5 has a flange which at this time closes the front of the body as shown. A suitable knob 10 is provided near the free edge of the door for manipulating the receiver, and if the device is to be locked, this knob may form the handle of the latch or lock, whose bolt will be controlled by key-operated tumblers not necessary to show and describe.

While the receiver may have fixed sheet metal top and bottom as shown, it necessarily has a pivoted or false bottom 11 so disposed and pivotally mounted on a rod 2 across the receiver that the front end of the bottom is a little lighter than the rear end and normally rises as shown in full lines in Fig. 1 although it may descend as shown in dotted lines in the same view. Along its sides this bottom has upstanding flanges 13 so that mail matter laid thereon may not become caught between this movable false bottom and thel sides of the receiver. At its front this false bottom is provided with two pendant fingers or tonguesl 14 and 15, the former at the transverse center of the bottom and the latter at its inner corner as perhaps best seen in Fig. 3; and the true bottom 16 of the receiver is provided with openings or notches 17 and 18 through which these tongues or fingers project when vthe front end of the bottom is moved downward, as indicated in Fig. 1. It follows that when the false bottom stands horizontal the fingers or stops rise to a position above the true bottom 16 as seen in full lines in Fig. 1; but when the false bottom tilts downward these fingers project through the true bottom and may be engaged by some extraneous element to prevent the swinging movement of the receptacle so long as the false bottom remains tilted. I make use of this construction and this fact to control the setting of the indicator or signal next to be described.

Mounted in upright guides 20 on one end of the body is the stem 21 of the indicator or signal, the same carrying a sign 22 at its upper end in the sha-pe of a flag, a disk, or some preferably highly colored object which may be seen from a distance; and if this mail boX is to be locked, it will be obvious that the guides and stem should be on the interior of the body. ln the present casefthe latter is provided with an upright slot 28 as best seen in Figs. 4f and 5, and through the same projects a pivot pinV 24; in the stem. Two links 25 are pivoted to cach other at their meeting ends and at their outer ends to said pin 24 and to a supporting pivot 26 in the. lower corner o-f the case or body 1'. Two other links '27 are similarly pivoted to each other at their meeting ends, the upper link being pivoted also on the pin 24C and the lower link pivoted to the lower link 25 where they cross at the point 28, below which this link is carried downward as best seen in Fig. 3 and turned inward into a finger 29 which is disposed in the path of the fingers or stops 14C and 15 when the stops descend by the tilting of the front end of the false bottoni 16. However, when the stops rise, it is clear that they will move freely over the finger 29 because the front end of the bottom then travelsv in a higher plane. v

With the above construction of parts, the operation of this device is as follows: The signal stands normally down and the links as seen in Fig. 5; thereceiver 6 stands closed as in full lines in Fig. 2 and its bottom raised as in full lines in Fig. 1. Now when the postman approaches he grasps the knob 10 and swings the receiver open to the position shown in Fig. 3, inserting his piece or pieces of mail matter into the open front of the receiver onto its false bottom. rThe Vlatter immediately tilts over the pivot rod 12, its front edge or end descending as seen in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and the stops 14 and l15 pass astride the finger' 29 as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. Now when the postman closes the receiver, the finger 29 is caused to move inward to the position shown in Fig. 4, when in such movement the links assume 'an upright position and the pin 24; travels up the slot 23, with the result that the signal is raised Aand the sign 22 displayed above the casing or body 1. This occurs whether the receiver has a lock or not, and the householder seeing the brightly colored sign from a distance, comes to the mailbox, opens the receiver, and takes out the mail matter. In

opening the receiver the indicator again descends, being forced to do so by the movement of the links to the position shown in Fig.v 5 as the inner stop 15 draws the finger 29 outward; but as soon as the mail is removed from Vthe false bottom, the latter reassumes a horizontal position and the stops clear the nger 29 so that when the receiver is again pushed to a closed position7 the links made without departing from the principlel of the invention. I have spoken of the rod 12 as being forward of the center of the false bottom, but it is not so shown in the drawings. The idea is that that portion of the bottom to the rear 0f the pivot rods shall be slightly heavier than that portion in front of it, and this may be accomplished by properly disposing the pivot rod or by carrying the rear end of the bottom upward in a weighted flange 13 which Vwould effect the same end and at the same time prevent mail matter `from getting behind this false bottom. The latter could be hinged quite at its rear end so long as it was raised at its front end by some means suitable of being overcome by the lightest piece of mail matter. I have already suggested the use of a lock if desired, and Vthat the indicator might be placed on the inside of thc front end wall of the body if it preferred. VWhile I have shown a double 'toggle link mechanism for causing the rise and fall of the indicator it is quite obvious that other means couldbe employed to bring this about, as the essential feature is that this mechanism should not be actuated by the fingers or'stops beneath the front end of the false bottoin,'untilthe latter is depressed by the weight of mail matter.

What is claimed as new is 1. In a mail boX, the combination with a casing,` and a movable indicator carried thereby; of a receiver movable into and'out of the casing and having a pivoted bottom capable of being depressed by a single piece of mail matter, mechanism for actuating said indicator, and means onthe false bottom engaging said mechanism when its bottom is depressed. Y i

2. In a mail box, the combination with a casing, and a movable indicator carried thereby; of a receivermovable into andout of the casing and having a pivoted bottom capable of being of mail matter, mechanism for actuating said indicator, the same including a finger underlying the free end of said false bottom, and stops depending from the vlatter and adapted to be moved into the path of said nger when the false bottom is'tilted by the introduction of a piece of 4mail matter thereon.

3. in a mail box, the combination with a casing open at one side, and a movable indicator carried thereby; of a receiver pivotally mounted at its rear end within said casing and capable of swinging out of said open side or into the casing to closed position, the receiver having a bottom pivotally mounted therein and capable of being tilted by the introduction of agsingle piece of mail matter, a stop depending from the free edge of said bottom, and actuating mechanism for depressed by a single piece said indicator, the same including a finger adapted to be engaged by said stop when the latter descends.

4. In a mail boX, the combination with a casing open at one side, and a movable indicator carried thereby; of a receiver pivotally mounted at its rear end within said casing and capable of swinging out of said open side or into the casing to closed position, the receiver having a bottom pivotally mounted therein and capable of being tilted by the introduction of a single piece of mail matter, a stop depending from the free edge of said bottom, link mechanism pivotally mounted within the front end of said casing7 a finger thereon adapted to be engaged by said stop when the front edge of said bottom descends, the forward end of the casing having an upright slot, and connections extending through said slot between the link mechanism and indicator, for the purpose set forth.

5. In a mail boX, the combination with a box-like casing open at one side and having guides in its forward end and an upright slot between said guides, an indicator Whose stem is slidably mounted in said guides, a pin in the stem projecting through said slot, and crossed links pivotally connected with said pin and one of them with a supporting pivot within the casing, the other link having a finger at its lower end; of a receiver mounted on an upright pivot at the rear end of the casing and having its bottom hinged and adapted to be depressed'at its forward end by the insertion of a piece of mail matter, and two stops depending from said forward end and adapted to pass astride said finger whereby closing movement of the receiver will set the indicator.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK KYLE.

Witnesses:

GEO. A. PRICE, Gr. A. Cown.

Copies of l:his patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

